IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON July 26, 2010 Issue

A CALL FOR HEALING

KATHLEEN COLLINS

THIS BIBLE LESSON, TITLED "LOVE," is full of promises of God's shepherding presence and power. The Golden Text goes straight to the heart of Christian Science theology: "I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Ex. 15:26).

Examples of Love's promises fill the Responsive Reading selections from the book of Jeremiah: "I am with thee ... I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds ... I will be your God ... I have loved thee with an everlasting love ... I will set up shepherds over them." And there are several shepherd/sheep images in the Lesson to convey God's nearness, protection, tenderness, and love.

King David was once a shepherd boy. His love for his sheep made him strong and fearless. Perhaps the most loved shepherd imagery in the Bible, in the 23rd Psalm, is accredited to him. It opens with "The Lord is my shepherd" (citation 11), or, as Science and Health puts it, "[Divine Love] is my shepherd" (p. 578, cit. 13).